• Vernon M. Billy, Executive Director
• Keith Bray, General Counsel/Director, Education Legal Alliance
• Dollye Breshears, Senior Director, Leadership Services
• Devin Crosby, Assistant Executive Director, Communications and Information Technology 
• Martin Gonzalez, Assistant Executive Director, Member Services 
• Dennis Meyers, Assistant Executive Director, Governmental Relations 
• Angelo Williams, Ed.D., Assistant Executive Director, Policy and Programs   

 

Vernon M. Billy
CSBA Executive Director

Vernon M. Billy joined the California School Boards Association as Executive Director in May 2011, bringing to the position extensive experience in public education advocacy, as well as the business arena.  Billy provides executive leadership for the association, which represents and serves the elected and appointed members of the governing boards of the 1,013 school districts and county offices of education in California.  He is responsible for planning, organizing, directing and coordinating the staff, programs and activities of CSBA to ensure the association’s mission, vision, goals and objectives are attained.

Billy has been involved in the business, legislative and political process for nearly two decades.  He is the former owner/partner in the successful policy and advocacy firm, K Street Consulting, LLC.Billy also is a former vice president of School Innovations & Advocacy, a multi-million dollar education services company, which he played a key role in building.  His experience as a business owner and policy and political strategist provides him with unique insight into the relationship between business and politics.

He also has extensive public education experience in the legislative and political arenas, serving as the former governmental relations director for San Francisco Unified School District, one of California’s largest and most diverse districts.  In addition, he has served as the chief contract lobbyist for California’s largest district, the Los Angeles Unified School District.  He also worked for CSBA during the mid-1990s as a senior legislative advocate.

Billy is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and graduated from California State University, Sacramento, with a Bachelor’s degree in government/international relations.  He lives with his wife and three children in Elk Grove.

 

Keith Bray
General Counsel/Director, Education Legal Alliance

Keith Bray joined CSBA as general counsel in December 2011. In this capacity, he is responsible for professional legal counsel to CSBA leadership, management and member districts. He oversees legal department programs, services and activities, and provides hands-on legal and strategic advice regarding all legal matters affecting the association.

Bray joined CSBA with more than 23 years of experience in the areas of labor negotiations, personnel matters, contract preparation and review, media outreach, policy updates and development, special education, facility construction and leases, open meeting laws, charter schools and administrative hearings.  Prior to joining CSBA, Bray served as general chief of staff/counsel for Placer County Office of Education and was responsible for overseeing all litigation along with serving as legal counsel for the Placer County Board of Education. Prior to that, he served as an attorney for Kronick Moskovitz Tiedemann, & Girard and also spent six years with Girard & Vinson, including time as a partner.

Bray received bachelor degrees in economics and psychology from California State University, Chico and a law degree from the McGeorge School of Law. He and his wife Susana live in Elk Grove and have three children.

 

Dollye Breshears
Senior Director, Leadership Services

Dollye Breshears serves as senior director of leadership services department in the executive office.  In this capacity, she oversees the department’s functions to support and serve the elected leadership of CSBA, comprised of the executive committee, board of directors, and delegate assembly so that they may fulfill their role in leading the association. Additionally, she staffs a number of committees and serves as liaison between staff and the leadership of both external and internal education entities.

Breshears joined CSBA in 1994, serving in the executive search services department for four years before assuming her role in the executive office. Prior to joining CSBA, she worked in the governmental relations office of the California Credit Union League for four years, as well as at the State Capitol where she served as a staff to Assembly Member Bruce Bronzan from Fresno and later to Senate Majority Leader Barry Keene. 

Breshears is a graduate of California State University, Sacramento with a degree in criminal justice and a minor in business. She and her husband, Steve, live in Sacramento.

 

Devin Crosby
Assistant Executive Director, Communications and Information Technology

Devin Crosby assumed the role of assistant executive director of communications and information technology in January 2012.  In this capacity he oversees departmental functions pertaining to public relations, marketing, publications, graphic design, database services, software development, and networking and user support services.

Crosby has more than 15 years of leadership experience in software and website development, technology planning, marketing, search engine optimization and e-commerce. Having joined CSBA in 2007, he has served as web director, principal director of information technologies, resources and services, as well as principal director of corporate support services. Prior to joining CSBA, he served as a senior programmer for Yuba Community College, as well as a partner and brand management consultant for a web development company. He has also served in various information technology capacities for Hewlett Packard, California State University, Chico, and Tribal Data Resources.

Crosby is a graduate of California State University, Chico with a degree in business administration and emphasis in management information systems and production operations management. He and his wife have two children and live in Yuba City.

 

Martin Gonzalez
CSBA Assistant Executive Director, Membership Services

Martin Gonzalez is the assistant executive director of CSBA’s membership services devision. Martin oversees the following departments:

membership services, policy update service, governance technology (GAMUT Online and AgendaOnline), policy development and manual maintenance, program development as well as memberhip conferences and training. Martin’s responsibilities also include oversight of the California School Boards Foundation.

Martin graduated from Berkeley Law in 1994. Before law school, he received a master’s degree in history and a bachelors degree in political science from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Martin was also selected to be a California State Senate Fellow in 1989. Prior to joining CSBA, he served as counsel to the Assembly Committee on Public Safety. He also served as deputy secretary for legislation and legal counsel for the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency and as a deputy director with the Governor’s Office on Criminal Justice Planning.

Martin and his wife Dr. Martha Valle have two children, Martin Alexander and Meredith. Martin and his family live in Elk Grove.

 

Dennis Meyers
Assistant Executive Director, Governmental Relations

Dennis Meyers, a veteran education advocate for California schoolchildren, joined CSBA in December 2011 as assistant executive director, governmental relations.

Meyers is responsible for the development and implementation of the association’s political and legislative strategies. In addition, he heads the team of legislative advocates responsible for the communication of CSBA’s policies and positions in the legislative and regulatory arenas. The governmental relations department analyzes all proposed legislation which impacts K-12 public education and represents the interests of the association’s members to the Legislature, governor, Congress, White House and appropriate state and federal regulatory agencies.

Meyers last served as assistant executive director, advocacy and policy, for the California Association of School Business Officials. Before that, Meyers was president of his own mortgage company. From 1998 to 2004, he was a legislative advocate and then assistant executive director of government and media relations at the Association of California School Administrators, where he directed the association’s political, policy, and media relations activities.

He began his career in K-12 education as a school board member in West Sacramento in 1981 at the age of 21. He served on the Washington Unified School District Board of Education for five years.  During his time on the school board, Dennis was elected for a term as Board President, President of the Yolo County School Boards Association, and to the Delegate Assembly of the California School Boards Association. Dennis resigned his school board seat to accept a position in the Governmental Relations Department of CSBA handling issues related to governance, fiscal accountability, and school facilities.

Meyers is a graduate of California State University, Sacramento with a degree in Economics and Government and holds the Certified Association Executive designation granted by the American Society of Association Executives. He is a licensed real estate broker as well as a volunteer firefighter and EMT.

He is married and has one child, a college-age daughter.

 

Angelo Williams
Assistant Executive Director, Policy and Programs

Angelo Williams, Ed.D. joined CSBA in 2011 as assistant executive director for policy and programs. In this capacity he oversees the organization’s policy analysis and program development functions including research and publications related to governance, the achievement gap, conditions of children, fair and adequate funding as well as organizational development. Williams also serves as Chief Financial Officer for the California School Boards Foundation.

Williams comes to CSBA from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, where as a program officer he managed a portfolio of education and economic development grants. He served as an adjunct professor of social science, education policy and administration at Drexel University’s Center for Graduate Studies, Sacramento City College and Sacramento State University.

Williams began his career in government with the Legislature as a legislative analyst and continued on to become a Senate associate consultant, field deputy for education and economic development legislation, and a gubernatorial appointee to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office as state director and assistant vice chancellor.  

He earned a doctorate in education at California State University, Sacramento and his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Davis.